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FILE PHOTO: A check-point at the entrance of the small town of Vo Vecchio. /AFP
Italy's economy suffered an unprecedented contraction due to its national anti-COVID-19 lockdown, and signs of recovery are overshadowed by uncertainty on the global level because the pandemic is evolving differently in different countries, Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) said Thursday.
In the second quarter the seasonally and calendar adjusted, chained volume measure of Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by "an exceptional amount," down by 12.4 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 17.3 percent year-on-year due to business closures under the national lockdown, the ISTAT said in its monthly report on the economy.
In the second quarter, the industrial production index, excluding constructions, decreased by 17.5 percent with respec t to the previous quarter, ISTAT added.
On the bright side, the industrial production index marked "a recovery of activity" in May and June, and business confidence improved in July, the report said.
In May, both exports and imports increased, up by 35 percent and 5.6 percent in comparison to the previous month, respectively. The recovery in trade, although it occurred across all sectors, only partially offset the fall experienced between May and April, ISTAT said.
In June, in seasonally adjusted terms, exports towards non-European Union (EU) markets increased by 14.9 percent and imports rose by 20 percent compared to May.
The international scenario over the past few weeks has been marked to some degree by a mismatched evolution of the pandemic that has further penalized the recovery of global trade, the report pointed out.
"The pandemic continues to grow, but while in Europe and China new cases seem to be confined to clusters, in the U.S., South America and India the situation is worsening, increasing uncertainty on the dynamics of global economic recovery," ISTAT said.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
